Method of packaging items in bags

ABSTRACT

This invention is directed to apparatus for sequentially packaging items in a chain of imbricated bags mounted on two strands of tape including a stationary support table, a tape puller, a forced air bag opener, a tray for inserting articles in the bag, indexing means operated by the bags for positioning the bags for loading; a method for sequentially loading such a chain of bags, supporting the bags in the loading position, opening the bags by directing air stream over and then into the bag, loading article via tray into bags; a special power supply apparatus for driving the tape puller including air motor, drive clutch and lock clutch; and a cartridge equipped chain of imbricated bags; all as further described hereafter.

United States Patent [191 Roberts et al.

[451 Feb. 26, 1974 METHOD OF PACKAGING ITEMS IN BAGS [75] Inventors:John T.,Roberts, Simpsonville;

. Ralph L. Wing, Greenville, both of [73] Assignee: W. R. Grace & Co.,Duncan, S.C. 22 Filed: Aug. 10, 1972 [21] Appl.No.: 279,414

Related U.S. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 47,926, May 7,1970, Pat. No.

[52] U.S. Cl. 53/29 [51] Int. Cl B65b 43/36 [58] Field of Search 53/29,385

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,507,090 4/1970 DAngelo53/385 X 3,490,195 1/1970 Abramson 53/29 Primary Examiner-Travis S.McGehee 57 ABSTRACT This invention is directed to apparatus forsequentially packaging items in a chain of imbricated bags mounted ontwo strands of tape including a stationary support table, a tape puller,a forced air bag opener, a tray for inserting articles in the bag,indexing means operated by the bags for positioning the bags forloading; a method for sequentially loading such a chain of bags,supporting the bags in the loading position, opening the bags bydirecting air stream over and then into the bag, loading article viatray into bags; a special power supply apparatus for driving the tapepuller including air motor, drive clutch and lock clutch; and acartridge equipped chain of imbricated bags; all as further describedhereafter.

1 Claim, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTEB FEB 2 s 1974 SHEET 1 (IF 6PATENTEDFB26 m4 3 793797 sum 2 are FIG. 2

1 METHOD OF PACKAGING ITEMS IN BAGS This is a division, of applicationSer. No. 047,926, filed May 7, 1970 now US. Pat. No. 3,698,847.

The present invention relates to a new and improved method and apparatusfor sequentially packaging items in bags and to a new and improved tapefeeding apparatus, a new package of imbricated bags and to a new powersupplying apparatus.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved method and animproved apparatus for sequentially loading bags at a high output rate.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such an apparatushaving low cost and simplified design for minimum maintenance andoperating expense.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved method andapparatus for sequentially bagging items that lend themselves to usewith a wide variety of different items, in particular, bulky items. Itis a still further object of this invention to provide a method and anapparatus for bagging items that is sufficiently simple in operationthat it lends itself to highly efficient use by operators or baggerswithout the requirement for extensive training.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improvedmethod and apparatus for pulling or con veying tape.

It is another object of this invention to provide a new and improvedpackage of imbricated bags.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a powersupplying apparatus that can be used in powering the apparatus forsequentially loading bags with particular advantage under particularlyrigorous ambient demands.

In summary, carrying out my invention in one form thereof, a bagfeeding, opening and filling apparatus is provided for feeding acontinuous chain of imbricated bags sequentially into a loadingposition, sequentially opening the bags and filling the bags. Theapparatus has a frame. A series of horizontal, spaced apart, parallel,

and aligned guide rollers are mounted on the frame and they direct,orient, and guide the chain of imbricated bags toward the loadingposition. v

. A support table and tape pulling unit is mounted on the frame. Thesupport unit includes a smooth surface support table that defines a bagsupport, opening and loading position. The support table has the shapeof an isosceles triangle with the base side of the triangle orientedforward intothe loading position and tapering rearwardly for receipt ofthe imbricated bags. The forward edge of the support table curvesdownwardly. The support table and tape pulling unit includes a poweredpulling gear and a two position meshing idler gear. The

idler gear has a positive toggle lock for securing it in drivenengagement with the driving gear. The meshing gears provide a means forconveying the imbricated bags by pulling the imbricated bags onto thesupport table. The gears grip two strands'of tape between them and feedthe tape therebeyond, adherring the tacky surfaces of the tape togetherby squeezing the tape between the intermeshing gear surfaces. Theintermeshing gears are cylindrical and they are positioned below thecurved edge of the support table and have parallel axes that projectforward and lie in a plane parallel to the general plane of the supporttable.

Two parallel laterally adjustable idler guide and orientation wheels arepositioned below the curved edge of the support table and above theintermeshing gears with their axes parallel to the axis of theintermeshing gears, the outer cylindrical surfaces of the wheels areknurled to prevent the tacky surface of the tape from adherring to them.The wheels serve to provide a twist in the tape as it is pulled downover the forward edge of said support table and to orient the tape forpassage into the meshing driven and idler gears. The driven gear ispowered by a sequential drive means to pull the tape through theapparatus in small sequential steps. The sequential drive means is ashort cycle power means connected to a powered rotating shaft; The shaftis connected to the driven gear.

A signal means in the path of the bag is provided by a resilient bladeindexing trigger projects through and extends above the forward edge ofthe support table, an actuating means or switch is engaged by thetrigger and sequentially switches the drive means into driving actuationin response to the actuation of the trigger when the trigger is engagedand released by the lead bag in the chain of imbricated bags.

An air blower driven by an electric motor is mounted on the frame andpositioned below the tray. An air chute in air stream engagement withthe blowers outlet is oriented to direct air from the blower against theforward edge of the bag engaged by the trigger in the loading positionat the forward edge of the support table to inflate the bag. This is themeans for opening the lead bag. The air is a fluid gas and provides themounted propelled force for opening the bag. A tray is munted on theframe and has a resilient forward end of reduced cross section thatengages in the open end of the bag to facilitate inserting items intothe bag.

By other aspects of our invention a reciprocating tray is mounted on theapparatus frame. The tray has expanding side arms that are resilient andform a resilient forward end of reduced cross section. An air cylinderconnected to a moveable gate and opens and closes a gate to the airblower in response to the actuation of an air switch mounted on theframe in the path of the reciprocating tray. By a still further aspectthe tray may be stationarily mounted on the frame. The forward end ofthe tray has a reduced cross section and includes at least two resilientside arms at opposite sides of the tray. The lower edges of side armshave upwardly curving surfaces that guide a bags upper lip outwardly andupwardly when the upper lip is lifted against the surface to cam the bagoutwardly and guide it upwardly where it can open over the arms. In thismanner the bag can encompass the arms enabling the tray to bestationarily positioned in the leading position a sufficient distance tofacilitate the expedicious loading of the bags.

By another aspect of our invention, in a preferred form thereof, apackage is provided comprising a cartridge having an internal spoolrotatably' secured medially therein. A passage opens into the cartridgeto the spool and two long strands of tape have respective ends attachedto the spool and extending from the cartridge through the passageway. Aplurality of identical bags are secured by one side to both of thetapes. The open end of each bag is oriented in the same directionrelative to the tapes as all of the other bags and each bag faces alongthe tapes towardthe cartridge. Each bag, after the bottom bag relativeto the tape, is offset along the tapes and overlies the opening of theunderlying bag. The tapes are spaced apart about an even distance wherethey engage each of the bags. Each of the bags is flattened and has twosides arranged in overlying disposition.

By a further aspect. of the invention, in a preferred form thereof, thetape pulling mechanism of the apparatus is modified to provide acoupling member at the end of the rotating shaft. The cartridgecontaining package of imbricated bags has a coupling in the spoolexposed for external coupling to the powered rotating shaft so that thetape pulling apparatus and the package of imbricated bags may becombined in an operating combination.

By another aspect of our invention, in one preferred form thereof, adropping mechanism is provided for pivoting the support table and tapepulling unit rearwardly so that the apparatus can be convenientlyreloaded with a new chain of imbricated bags. The dropping mechanismincludes an air cylinder for closing and retaining the support table andtape pulling unit in closed position. A lever releases the air from thecylinder to open the table and admits air'to the cylinder to close thetable.

In summary, in carrying out our invention in one form thereof, a processis provided for sequentially loading a chain of imbricated bagssupported by two parallel spaced apart tapes each of which has one tackysurface engaging one side of each bag. In practice, the two spaced aparttapes are pulled from a medial position between their normal spacedapart paths and at the same time their respective tacky surfaces aresqueezed together by gripping the tapes between the teeth of a pair ofgears and sequentially activating the gears to pull the tape in stepwisefashion. The bags are sequen tially moved into a loading position withtheir unattached sides oriented upwardly by pulling the tapes. The sideof the bag engaged by the tapes in the loading position is firmlysupported. The bars are sequentially inflated as they are positioned inthe loading position by initially reducing the air pressure above theunattached side of the bag to partially open the bag and subsequentlydirecting a stream'of air into the partially open bag to increase thepressure inside the bag and fully open the bag. A tray is engaged in theopen bag and an article is loaded onto the tray. The article is loadedinto the bag and the bag is simultaneously peeled from the tapesstarting at the bags forward edge and proceeding toward the bottom ofthe bag until the bag is free from the tape, and the loaded bag isdisengaged from the tray.

While several species of the principles of the present invention areillustrated in the accompanying drawings and described in detail in thefollowing specification, it is to be understood that such embodimentsare by way of example only and that various mechanical and proceduralmodifications may be made without departing from the spirit of theinvention, the scope of which is limited only as defined in the appendedclaims.

FIG. I is a diagramatic top plan view of one specie of the apparatus ofour invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagramatic perspective view of the support table and tapepulling unit of FIG. 3 with parts broken away to show the triggermechanism and driving means.

FIG. 3 is a diagramatic side plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 withthe frame broken away.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a bag suitable for use on the apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagramatic front plan view of a chain of imbricated bagsmounted on tape suitable for use with the apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagramatic side plan view of the chain of imbricated bagsof FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a diagramatic front end view of the support table and inflatedbag of FIG. 3.

FIG. 8 is a diagramatic perspective view similar to FIG. 2 of anotherspecie of the support table and tape pulling unit.

FIG. 9 is a diagramatic side plan view similar to FIG. 3 of anotherspecie of our apparatus to illustrate the distinctions between the twospecies, FIG. 9 is in less detail than FIG. 3.

FIG. 10 is a diagramatic top plan view similar to FIG. 1 of the specieof our apparatus shown in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is a diagramatic perspective view of a still further specie ofthe support table and tape pulling unit of our invention somewhatsimilar to FIG. 2 but displaying our improved windup package.

FIG. 12 is a diagramatic front view similar to FIG. 5 of another specieof a chain of imbricated bags mounted on tape and suitable for use withthe apparatus of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a diagramatic side plan view of the chain of imbricated bagsof FIG. 12.

Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, a packagingapparatus 10 is shown therein embodying the invention in one preferredform thereof. The apparatus 10 has a frame 11 with an article insertingtray 12 reciprocally mounted thereon for reciprocation from the outposition shown in solid lines in FIG. 3 to the inserted position 13'shown in dotted lines. A support table and tape pulling unit, 15 ispivotally mounted on the frame. A 'forced air system 16 is mounted belowthe tray (as shown in FIG. 3) on the frame and directs air across theforward edge of the top of the support table and tape pulling unit asindicated by the arrows depicting the air flow path. A bag feed inarrangement 17 is provided at one end of the apparatus 10. A tabledropping mechanism 20 is provided for pivoting the support table andtape pulling unit between operating and reloading positions. 7

The support table and tape pulling unitl5 is shown in particular detailin FIGS. 2 and 3. The unit 15 includes a support table 21 which has theshape of an isosceles triangle with the base side of the triangleoriented forward. The triangle tapers rearwardly and has a curved point18 at its outer end so that it will not tear the bags. The forward edge22 of the support table curves downwardly and has an opening 23 (FIG. 1)in the center of the curved forward edge cut. The unit 15 has arectangular front plate 24 and a substantially rectangular bottom plate25. The side plates 26 and 27 are substantially rectangular with theirback edges curving and conforming to curved point 18 of the triangularsupport table 21. The side plates 26 and 27 are cut out along theirrearmost bottom edges to expose the power means 28. A housing for theunits power means 28 is formed by the members or walls 21, 24, 25, 26and 27.

The power means 28 includes a power train which begins at the output endwith a driven gear 30. A beveled shaft 31 having an end 31a secured tothe gear 30 and extending from the gear 30 through a supporting bushingassembly 32 and through the gear housing 33 of clutch 34. The shaft 31connected'to the gear housing 33 for joint rotation therewith. Theclutch disc 35 of clutch 34 is secured to the bottom plate 25 by bracket19 against rotation. The shaft 31 passes beyond clutch 34, through asecond supporting bushing 36 and through a second clutch 37. The gearhousing 38 of the second clutch 37 is connected to shaft 31 for rotationtherewith. The clutch disc 39 of clutch 37 is connected by shaft 40 toan arm 41 which is connected by shaft 42 to a reciprocating rotaryactuator or reversing air motor 43. Clutches 34 and 37 are overrideclutches of the type that have one direction drive and one directionslip. Both clutches drive when clockwise motion is supplied (as seen inFIG. 3) and areout of driving engagement when counter clockwise motionis supplied.

The reciprocating rotary actuator 43 is driven in a clockwise direction(as seen in FIG. 2) when the pressure is on line 44 which drives thedriven wheel 30. Clutch 37 is engaged with driving shaft 31 and clutch-34 is disengaged allowing shaft 31 to rotate freely. When pressure isapplied to the reciprocating rotary actuator by line 45 the'rotaryactuator has a counter clockwise motion and clutch 37 disengagesallowing the driven disk 39 to slip and clutch .34 engages preventingthe shaft 31 from reversing its motion. Drive gear 30 thus remains inlocked position and will not turn counter-clockwise.

Rotary actuator 43 is controlled by a valve 46 which is a twoway valvethat switches the air from line 44 to line 45 and back to line 44 inresponse to its actuation by a pilot valve 47. Pilot valve 47 is anon-off valve operated through a spring loaded actuator 50 by a leafspring trigger 51 which closes the pilot valve cutting off the air tothe actuator in valve 46 which also has an internal spring loadedactuator. The pilot valve 47 is connected to valve 46 by line 52. Aconstant supply of air is supplied to valve 46 and to valve 47 via line53, branch 54 extending to valve 46 and branch 55 extending to valve 47.The leaf spring trigger 51 extends through the support table 21 via slot23 (FIG. 1).

A meshing idler gear 56 can be intermeshed or released frommeshing'engagement with the driven gear 30 by manipulating the togglelock 57.

Gear 56 is journaled in bracket. 58 which is connected by rod 60 to thepivotal linkage 61 which moves the wheel in and out in response to thepivoting of handle 62. Whenthe handle is in the position shown in FIG. 2the toggle 57 is in the locked position and the meshing gears are inmeshed engagement. When the handle 62 is lowered the two-position idlergear 56 is moved to its outward position.

Two freely rotating guide and orientation wheels 63 and 64 project fromand are journaled in plate 24. Wheels 63 and 64 guide the tape thatsupports the bags down over the curved edge 22 of the support table andprovides a twist in the tape so that it may be received betweenthemeshing gears 30 and 56. The surfaces of the wheels 63 and 64 areknurled. The wheels are parallel to one another and laterally adjustablyin slots 65 and 66 respectively. Screws 70 and 71 serve to tighten theinner'shaft of the wheels in fixed position in the slots in any selectedposition along the slots.

porting table 21. The rollers preferably have plastic or rubber surfacesso that they will not develop sharp ridges or bumps when scared ordamaged. Such sharp projections could damage the bags, particularly whenthe apparatus is used with plastic bags such as saran or polypropylenebags.

Several spaced apart rollers are provided so that the apparatus will bereadily adaptable for use with bags of varying sizes. The rollers arespaced outward from the back of the support table 21 a distancesufficient to provide for a substantially complete straightening out ofthe bag by the time the bag reaches the forward edge of the supporttable in its loading position. This is important in providing for theeasy inflation of the bag,

for if the bag is folded down at its rear portion for a subundesirable.While the rollers can be lined up beyond the distance required tostraighten out the bags this only makes the machine unnecessarily long.The chain of bags can also be fed over a roller more distant from theloading position than that necessary to straighten out the lead bags butthen it is more trouble to unload Looking now at FIGS. 1 and 3, theguide mechanism 17 may be seen to include a series of horizontal, spacedapart parallel and aligned guide rollers 73, 74, 75 and 76 which arerotatably mounted between the frame members 80 and 81; the topmostsurface of each roller is substantially aligned with the upper plane ofthe supa chain of bags from themachine to switch bag sizes because thebags must be folded back into the supply box to prevent tangling. If theentire chain of bags is to be used up without directly attaching asubsequent chain onto its end it is desirable to have the bags pulled upand over the roller closest to the support table,- communserate withobtaining the needed bag straightening, to obtain the additional drag onthe chain provided by the weight of the bags hanging down from theroller as long as possible for proper tensioning and staightening of thebags and tape.

The rollers 73, 74, 75 and 76 are spaced sufficiently close together sothat the chain of imbricated bags will not sag appreciatively downbetween the rollers when being fed across several of them. A verysatisfactory spacing between the rollers has been found to be from about2 V2 inches to 3 inches using bags that are from 10 inches wide and 24inches long and weigh 0.08 pounds to 18 inches wide and 32 inches longand weigh 0.13 pounds each when the bags are spaced inch apart with atolerance of Mr inch.

It is important to provide the triangular support table shape over whichthe chain of imbricated bags can be drawn as they pass from the rollersbecause when the tapes are spaced inwardly the width of the bag fromeach side, the forward comers of the bags fall down as shown at one sidein FIG. 5 for purposes of illustration.

This occurs as the bags are drawn up onto the table be cause the edgesof the bags that extend out beyond the bags are not supported by thetapes and if the bags are supple, such as 1.5 mils saran film bags, thecomers fall down as the bags are pulled from the box up onto theapparatus. The tips of the triangle over which the bags first proceed isnarrower than the spacing of the top so that the bags pass on to thesupport table where they are supported and held straight by the tape.The edges of the bags fall over the edges of the support table. As thebags-are pulled farther up on the widening triangle the edges of thebags are continuously straightened or cammed outwardly by the wedgeshape of the triangle.

At its forward edge the triangle is wider than the bags and they areheld straightened out.

The table positioning mechanism pivots the support table and tapepulling unit 15 about the pair of trunnions which are connected to theframe 11. Only one of the trunnions 82 is shown in FIG. 3. The trunnionsare secured in brackets 83 as seen in FIG. 3. The brackets are securedto the frame 11.

The unit 15 is raised and lowered by a single air cylinder 84 which isoperated by a valve 85. The valve 85 is opened and closed bylever 86. Aconstant supply of air is supplied by line 87 to the valve 85 and'whenthe lever is in the position shown in solid lines air is supplied to thecylinder 84 through line 88 and thepiston (not shown) is driven forwardpulling the table into its closed operable position. By moving the lever86 to the position shown in broken lines the air to the cylinder 84which has been holding the table closed is shut off and line 89 isopened allowing the air in the cylinder to escape slowly through arestricted orifice (not shown) allowing the unit 15 to open slowly. Theair pressure to the cylinder is 30 psi and this provides a safetyfeature because an operator can manually overcome the closing pressureby pushing against the unit. This air pressure is also insufficient tocrush a hand. The cylinder 84 may be seen to be connectedto the frame bybracket 90 and to the unit 15 by bracket 91 through the pistons rod 92.

The reciprocating table 12 maybe seen in FIGS. 1 and 3 to includesleeves and 101 which are slidably mounted on the supporting guide rods102 and 103.

The reciprocating tray has sides 104 and 105. Spring arms 106 and 107extend from the sides 104 and respectively and converge inwardly.

The air blower unit 16 has a centrifugal air blower or fan inside casing110 operated by an electric motor (not shown) positioned inside of theair blowers casing on the far side in FIG. 3. The air blower takes airin through the inlet 111 and propels it out through the outlet 112 intoa chute 113 which has a sloping bottom wall 114 and side walls 115 and116 (see FIG. 1). The chute.113 directs the air upwardly across thefront or forward edge 22 of the support table 21 as indicated by thearrows in FIG. 3. A gate 117 closes the inlet 111 to the fan and thusprevent the movement of air through the fan and thence out exit 112 andchute 113. The gate is a flat disc that engages around the rim ofopening 111. The cylinder 120 opens and closes the gate 117. Piston rod121-connects the cylinder to the gate 117. The cylinder 120 is connectedto the frame 11 by mounting bracket 120a. The piston in the cylinder 120is spring loaded.

The piston is driven by air supplied by line 122 to close the gate 117and when the air pressure is released the spring (not shown) opens thegate 117. Valve 123 controls the supply of air to cylinder 120 throughthe actuator and release of spring loaded lever 124. The gate valve,117, is normally held open by the spring in cylinder 120 so that air' issupplied from the blowers outlet 112 through the chute 113 across thefront or forward edge of the support table 21. However, when the tray 12is moved inwardly the beveled camming surface of sleeve 101 earns thelever 124 down admitting air to line 122 which drives the piston in thecylinder 120 outwardly moving the gate 117 across the inlet 111 shuttingoff the air entering the fan. When the tray 12 is retracted the lever124 is released by the 8 camming surface 125 shutting off the air toline 122 and opening the line so that the air in the cylinder may escapeallowing the spring to drive the piston back in the cylinder openinggate 117 and admitting air once again into the fan so that it may bepropelled from the fan s outlet 112.

A plurality of imbricated bags that are arranged along the two strips ofadhesive tape 128 and 129 may also be seen in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7.In FIG. 3 one bag 131 is shown inflated on the support table 21. Thechain of imbricated bags may be seen to be made up of numerousindividual bags 131, 132, 133 and 134, in FIG. 6, for example. Thesebags are adherredto the two parallel and spaced apart tacky tapes. Thetwo may be seen in FIGS. 1 and 7 in .operating engagement on themachine, pulled down over the forward edge 22 of the support table 21and passed around the knurled wheels 63 and 64 (as may also be seen fromFIGS. 2 and 3) and between the meshing gears 30 and 56. The imbricatedbags extend back across rollers 73 and 74 that support them. The bagsextend over roller 74 and down into a stock box 143.- Rollers 75 and 76are provided for use in supporting longer bags. The bags should usuallybe at least substantially horizontal before they are inflated. The chainof bags or package 130 is hooked to a separate chain of bags or packagewhich is in another stock container 146. The two chains of bags arejoined by securing the end portions of the tapes 128 and 129 and thebeginning portions of tapes 147 and 148 in the fresh box 145 ofimbricated bags.

The tapes 128 and 129 are spaced apart on the imbricated bags about Athe .width of the bag in from each side within a tolerance one the widthof the bag so that the bags may open into a wide oval opening. Theopening approaches a circular configuration of the somewhat squareconfiguration of FIG. 7. The tapes are spaced inwardly from theirrespective sides about an equal distance. The tolerance for the equalinward spacing is about k inch if the bags are to be optimally pulledinto the loading position with the open end evenly aligned. Thus in theexample shown in FIGS. 4, 5 and 6, the bag is 12 inches wide, the tapesare 5 )6 inches from inside edge to inside edge, the tapes are 3/4 inchwide, the distance from the outside edge of each tape to the nearestside edge of the bag is 3 inches. The bags are offset from one anotheralong the tape 34 inch.

The tape contact surface is l A; square inches on each 7 bag, 9/ 16square inch contact surface per tape. Depending on the size bag used thetape contact surface per tape may desirably vary from A. to 1 squareinch per tape. The tack strengh should be such that from 2-4 pounds,more preferably about 2 pounds, will separate the bag from the tapes andlr pound, more preferably 1 pound, will not separate the bag from thetapes when the pull is provided on an angle of 30 in the directiontoward which the bags are normally stripped from the tapes. If a hightack tape is used the width of tape and the area of contact can besubstantially reduced by several fold. The tensile strengh of the tapeshould, however, be maintained above about 25 to 55 pounds per tape;more preferably 55 pounds per tape. In order that the tapes not causethe lead bag to trough or curve side edge to sideedge when beingpositioned in the loading position the tape extends 18 inches'beyond thelead bag in the chain. 4

component power means 28 a power unit 228 is provided. Thepower unit228,has a low geared start-stop motor 243 which is geared (gears notshown) in such a ratio that it will not reverse when a reverse pressureof 15 pounds is applied to shaft 231. The motor used was a SLO-SYNTrademark, Driving Motor" having a torque capacity of 400 amps inches at16.6 rpm obtained from the Superior Electric Company, Bristol,Connecticut. The shaft 231 is connected to and drives a driven gear 230.A spring loaded on-off electrical switch 247' is connected by wires 244and 245 to the motor 243. The switch is biased to the off position. Theswitch is cut on by the leaf spring trigger 251 when it engages againstthe spring loaded actuator 250 and overcomes the bias of the actuator.In other respects the support table and tape pulling unit 215. is almostidentical to the support table and tape pulling unit 15 with theexception of shield 219 (FIGS. 9 and The support table 215 has atriangular support table 221 with a curved forward edge 222 which has anopening 223 shown in dotted lines in FIG. 10 through its forward edge.Shield 219 is fastened to the front plate 224 of the support table andtape pulling unit 215 and extends over the leaf spring trigger 251 sothat the trigger is shielded from the forward or article inserting endof apparatus directly above and in front of the trigger 25.

The support table and tape pulling unit 215 (FIG. 8) is shown equippedfor non-pivotal mounting in the manner of the unit shown in FIGS. 9 and10. However, the unit 215 could just as well be pivotally mounted in themanner of unit and vice versa. Unit 15 could also be substituted forunit 215 in FIGS. 9 and 10 by the same token the unit 215 could bepivotally mounted and substituted for unit 15 in device 10 of FIGS. 1and 3.

Unit 215 may be seen in FIG. 8 to have a front plate 224, a bottom plate225 and side plates 226 and 227. The unit 215 has non-laterallyadjustable but freely rotating guide and orientation wheels 263 and 264and a meshing idler gear 256. The idler gear 256 has a meshing positionand an out of mesh or open position between which it is moved by thetoggle 257. The tray 212 is rigidly mounted in assembly 315 with the fan210 and chute 213. The assembly 315 is hinged to the frame 21 1 withhinges 382 and 383(FIGS. 9 and 10). An over center self locking foldingsupport arm 390 is connected to the frame 211 and the assembly 315 andsupports the assembly in the raised position. When it is desired tounlock the arm 390 it is bent at 391 and folds as the assembly islowered. The. assembly is raised and lowered manually. Brackets 300 and301 engage the assembly frame 310 to support and position the assemblywhen it is in its operable position.

The tray 212 has sides 304 and 305 from which spring arm 306 and 307respectively project. The spring arms 306 and 307 .arepositioned so thatwhen a bag is inflated their forward ends will be inside of the bag. Thespring arms have curved forward edges 308 and 309 that serve as guidingsurfaces such as 307a to guide the bag from under the arms to fullinflation above the arms. It may be seen in FIG. 9 that the spring armsstraddle the guard 219.

The forced air system 216 includes an electrically powered centrifugalfan 210 which operates continuously-when the apparatus is in operation.When the apparatus is placed in operation the fan is initially activated by a switch (not shown). The air enters the fan through inlet 211and exits through outlet 312 into chute 213 which has a number ofprotective bars 217 and 218 across its outlet as shown in FIG. 10. Thisprevents large particles of the article being packaged from falling downthe chute and blocking the air passage. The bars 217 and 218 also serveas a surface bridging the chute outlet over which the article to bepackaged may slide.

For purposes of illustration, the bags shown in FIG. 10 on machine 210are slightly longer than the bags shown in FIG. 1 positioned on themachine 10 and it may be seen that the bags shown in FIG. 10 extend backacross rollers 273, 274 and 275 and down over roller 275. Thus .theuseof the plurality of support rollers in accomodating bags of differingsizes is illustrated.

By a further aspect of our invention, in a preferred form thereof, wehave provided a combination of a chain of imbricated bags and a windablecartridge. The windable cartridge 400 removably clips onto theembodiment of the support table and tape puling unit 415 shown in apreferred form in FIG. 11. Only these portions of apparatus 415necessary to illustrate the differences between unit 415 and units 215and 15 are shown in FIG. 11. The power unit could, of course, be eitherthat of unit 15 or of unit 215. A shaft 431 projects through the frontplate 424 and has a coupling head 40] thereon for engagement in thespool couple 402 to rotate the spool 403 (FIG. 13) which is mounted forrotation within the housing 404. The housing 404 has two members, a backmember 405 and a front member 406 which are frictionally held togetherwith the rim 410a of member 405 fitting inside of the rim 41 la ofmember 406. The rims project from circular walls 410 and 41 1respectively and with the rims form shallow cup shaped members 405 and406. The rotatable spool is mounted in the wall of housing member 405. Aslot 407 enters through the rim of the housing 404. Lips 408 and 409 areintegrally molded with the housing member 405 and prevent the tearing ofthe tape as it passes through the slot 407. The housing member 406 mayhave similar lip portions or the lips in the housing member 405 maysimply have a slot permitting the lips 408 and 409 to extend across theslot in the housing 404 so that the tape can scrape only against therounded lip portions as it is drawn into the tape cartridge 400.

Pairs of bosses 412a, 41% and 4120 are formed on housing member 405.Each boss extends across a portion of the back of the housing member anda portion of the rim. Bosses 413a, 413b and 413a are formed on the frontplate 424 of the unit 415. When the tape windup cartridge 400 is securedto the unit 415 the pairs of bosses 412a, 4121) and 4120 cooperativelyreceive respectively bosses 4130, 413b and 413a therebetween to securethe cartridge housing 404 nonrotatably to the unit 415.

By an aspect of this invention in a preferred embodiment a chain ofimbricated bags of the type shown in FIG. 12 is packaged in a packagesuch as package 143 of FIG. 3. The chain of imbricated bags 430 includesthe combination of the windup cartridge 400, the tapes 428 and 429 andthe bags. The chain of imbricated bags is shown in FIG. 13 with the topcover 406 removed for purposes of illustration. Of course, in actualpackaging it would be in place. The tapes 428 and 429 are spaced aparton the imbricated bags about A the width of the bag in from each sidewithin a tolerance of is the width of the bag so that the bags may openinto a wide oval opening. The opening approaches a circularconfiguration or the somewhatsquare configuration of FIG. 7. The tapesare spaced inwardly from their respective sides about an equal distance.The tolerance for the equal inward spacing is about A inch if the bagsare to be optinally pulled into the loading position with the open endevenly aligned. Thus in the example shown in FIGS. 8, 9 and 10, the bagis 12 inches wide, the. tapes are 4 h. inches from inside edge to insideedge, the tapes are inch wide, the distance from the outside edge ofeach tape to the nearest side edge of the bagis 3 inches. The bags areoffset from one another along the tape %inch.The tape contact surface is1 Vs square inches on each bag, 9/16 square inch contact surface pertape. Depending on the size bag used the tape contact surface per tapemay desirably vary from A to 1 square inch per tape. The tack strengthshould be such that from 2-4 pounds more prefereably about 2 pounds willseparate the bag from the tapes and lpound more preferably 1 pound willnot separate the bag from the tapes when the pull is provided on anangle of 30 in the direction toward which the bags are normally strippedfrom the tapes. If a high tack tape is used the width of tape and thearea of contact can be substantially reduced by several fold. Thetensile strength of the tape should, however, be maintained above about25 to 55 pounds per tape, more preferably above 55 pounds per tape. lnorder that the tapes not cause the lead bag to trough or curve side edgeto side edge when being postiioned in the loading position the tapeextends 18 inches beyond the lead bag in the chain. The tapes areadherred together tacky surface to tacky surface starting at a pointjust before they enter the slot 407. Thus the-tapes will not stick tothe lips 409 and 408 as they are drawn into the slot 409 because thenontacky surface faces outwardly.

A small slot 420 is provided in the spool 403. The spool 403 also has anannular recess 421 into which the slot 420 opens. The double tapes 428and 429 are adherred together and then fed through the slot 420 and thetape is twisted one to several times, as necessary, and the twistedportion is pushed down in the annulus 421. This prevents the tape frompulling out through the slot 420 and provides a grip on the tape for itswindup by the support table and tape pulling unit 415. Of course, afterthis assembly has been completed the cover 406 is secured in positionwith its rim inside of the rim of housing member 405. The chain ofimbricated bags 430 is then complete.

If the surfaces of the bags tend to adhere together a dusting of talc tocover the surfaces of the bags inside and out may be used to overcomethe sticking together of the surfaces.

By an aspect of our invention in a preferred form thereof, a process isprovided for sequentially loading a chain of imbricated bags supportedby two parallel spaced apart tapes each of which has one tacky surfaceengaging one side of each bag. The other side of the tape is not tackyand faces outwardly. The two spaced apart tapes are pulled from a medialposition between their normal spaced apart paths and at the same timetheir respective tacky surfaces are squeezed together by gripping thetapes between the teeth of a pair of gears and sequentially activatingthe gears to pull the tape in step wise fashion. The tape accumulatesbelow the gears and can be periodically removed by severing the tapebelow the gears or by waiting until a run of bags is completed. Becausethe respective tacky surfaces have been squeezed together the tape isnot a problem from the standpoint of sticking to everything and forminga mess and fouling the efficient operation of the apparatus.

By pulling the tapes from a medial position between their normal spacedapart paths the chain of imbricated bags is moved in a straight linewithout any substantial problem with canting from side to side andwithout a requirement for constantly adjusting the pull so that thechain will move in a straight line to the loading position. Each bag ispulled into the loading position in almost exactly the same position asthe previous bag to facilitate easy opening and loading withoutproviding compensation for irregularity in the bags position.

It is preferably that the tapes be pulled from a position below theplane of the bags when they are in the loading position. It is alsodesirable for the tapes and bags to pass through the loading position inan even horizontal plane with the very front edge of the bags beingslightly pulled down over a rounded edge. The tapes should preferably bemaintained spaced apart as they pass through the loading position andthe plane of the tape should be changed fairly abruptly desirably byengaging the tapes around idler wheels spaced apart about the normaldistance of the tapes spacing. By positioning the tape receivingsurfaces of the idler wheels both perpendicular and at right angles tothe tapes original horizontal plane of movement, the orientation of thetape can be correspondingly changed.

The bagsare moved into the loading position sequentially, only thetopmost bag being fully in the loading position. The upwardly orientedside of this topmost bag is free of attachment so thatv it may bereadily opened. The bottom of the chain of imbricated bags is not tackyand slides easily in response to the pulling force applied to the tape.The bottom side of the forwardmost bag in the imbricated chain is firmlysupported so that an item placed in the bag will not cause the entirebag to fall or otherwise deform until the bag is removed-from theloading position.

The bags are sequentially inflated as they are positioned in the loadingposition by initially reducing the air pressure above the unattachedside of the bags to partially open the bag and subsequently directing astream of air into the partially open bag to increase the pressureinside of the bag and thereby fully open the bag. An article is loadedinto a reciprocating tray and this reciprocating tray is moved forwardshutting off the stream of air to the inside of the bag and the traymoves on into the bag before the bag can close and simultaneously peelsthe bag from the tapes starting at the bag's forward edge and proceedingtoward the bottom of the bag until the'bag is free from the tape.Simultaneously with this action the article is pushed from the tray intothe bag and thereafter the loaded bag is disengaged from the tray andthetray is drawn back out of the way for reloading.

By peeling the bag from the tape much less force is required than if thebag is stripped from the tape in a direct plane. This is because the bagis gradually stripped from the tape by pulling upwardly against the bagstarting at the edge of the top lip and pulling the bag from and liftingthe bag backward away from the tape until it is free.

The bag may be separated from the tape in the manner described byemploying spaced apart spring arms on the tray having reduced dimensionsfor first entering the bag and increasingly spaced apart and upwardlyincreasing dimensions that engage the upper side of the bag as the trayprogresses into the bag lifting the bag off of the tapes and pushing thebag back from the tape in the same motion in the manner of a movingwedge, see

' FIG. 3, the shape of arm 107. Thearticle being bagged can be slippedthrough the tray between the spring arms simultaneously with the inwardmovement of the tray. The outward movement of the spring arms againstthe sides of the bag would also tend to hold the bag in position on thetray while the article is being loaded into the bag.

This process may advantageously be used to sequentially load a chain ofimbricated bags with items such as cleaned and dressed turkeys or othermarket ready items.

To place the apparatus of this invention in operation and operate it ina preferred manner, using 12 inch wide by 20 inch long bagsand apreferred process of this invention, the support table and tape pullingunit 15 is opened to the position shown in broken'lines in FIG. 3 andthe toggle lock 57 is open so that the gear 56 is spaced from gear 30.The knurled wheels 63 and 64 are adjusted apart equal distances from thecenter approximately the same spacing as the two lead tapes of the chainof bags. The knurled wheels need adjusting only if the width bag beingused varies substantially. If adjustment is necessary the screws 70 and71 are loosened and the respective wheels are correspondingly moved inor out and then the screws are tightened I again. To feed the chain ofbags 130 into the machine the twolead tapes 128 and 129 are manuallyraised out fed up and over an appropriate roller so that they lay overthe roller as shown in FIG. 1. The chain of imbricated bags 130 can beseen to pass between roller 74 and 75 and to lie across the top of therollers 73 and 74.

The chain of bags 130 is manually pulled over above the support table21. The tapes are drawn down over the forward edge of the table so thatthey engage the table with their non-tacky surfaces. Then tape 128 istwisted one half turn counter-clockwise and its tacky surface is engagedover the knurled wheel 63 as shown in FIG. 7. Tape 129 is twistedone-half turn clockwise and its tacky surface is engaged over knurledwheel 64 as is also shown in FIG. 7. The ends of the two tapes are stucktogether tacky surface to tacky surface and positioned or threadedbetween the gears 30'and 56 which are open. The locking toggle 57 isthen pivoted to move the idler gear 56 into mesh with the driven gear 30and then locked by pushing the toggle over center (FIG. 2). After thetoggle is locked the tape is securely held crimped between theintermeshed gears.

.of a package containing a chain of imbricated bags and 14 After thechain of imbricated bags 130 has been positioned in the machine and thetape secured between the intermeshing gears 30 and 56, the lever 86 ismanually moved to open valve and supply air to cylinder 84 which drivesthe piston and piston rod 92 forward pulling the support table and tapepulling unit 15 up into its operating position shown in solid lines inFIGS. 1 and 3.

When the imbricated bags are being fed or loaded into the machine it isdesirable to have the tray 12 sufficiently forward to engage the lever124, and cut off the air from fan 110. This prevents the air frombuffeting the forward edge of the bags and inflating them before theapparatus 10 is ready for sequential operation. Of course, the machinemay be loaded with bags with its power both air and electric off. Theair would then be switched on before activating lever 86 to raise theunit 15. The fan 16 could be switched on subsequently if desired. Oncethe table and tape pulling unit 15 is in its operating position thedriving wheel 30 would convey the tape forward until the lead bag in thechain 130 engages against the trigger-5l opening valve 47 (FIG. 2). Thetray 12 is then retracted to its outer position for loading, switchingthe air on which inflates the lead bag.

When the tray is retracted the lever 124 is released by the cam surface125. This closes valve 123 admitting air to cylinder via line 122- andopens the gate 117 admitting air through inlet 111 into the fan whichpropels the air outwardly through outlet 112. The air is guided by thechute 113 across the forward edge of bag 131 and the air stream passingover the bag reduces the pressure over the bag and the air in the bagexpands slightly, slightly lifting the bag. The air stream then catchesinside the bag and further lifts the bag to fully open position.Somebags that have desirable properties such as very thin walls, clearsee-through characteristics and a very flexible hand, such as saranbags, must be powdered inside to befully operable. The powder preventsthe sides of the bags from adhern'ng together and exluding air frombetween the two inner walls of the bags which would make the opening ofthe bag very difficult using only the air system employed here. Thepowder may be a material such as cornstarch if edibles are to be placedin the bags.

Turning now to the sequential operation of the apparatus, an operatordeposits an item to be packaged on tha tray 12. The item may be suppliedby any means such as, for example, a push cart or conveyor (not shown).The tray 12 is pushed forward by the operator. As the tray moves forwardits conveying arms enter the mouth of the bag 131. After the arms haveentered about US of the way into the bag the camming surface 125 engagesthe lever 124 actuating the gate 117 to close off the air into the fan110 and thereby shut off the air from the fan. It is preferable to shutoff the air because as the bottom edge of the tray 12 passes over thechute 113 it deflects the air downwardly against the mouth of bag 132that underlies the bag 131 and tends to inflate the second bag beforethe first bag 131 is stripped from the tape. This tends to cause thebags to be partly stripped from the tape-prematurely and it also tendsto tear the bags.

As the upper shoulder portions of the arms 106 and 107 enter furtherinto the bag they strip the bag from the tape by pulling upwardly on theupper lip of the bag as the tray is pushed further into the bag drawingthe ward camming of the arms is excentuated by the downward curvedposition of the lower lip. This substantially assures that the lower lipof the bag will peel upwardly from the tape with the peeling progressingfrom the very front edge toward the rear. This greatly reduces theamount of force required to strip the bag from the tape. A muchgreaterforce would be needed to shear the bag from the tape in the planeof the tape. Even the force needed to directly pull the bag from thetape at one time straight away is very high.

As the bag is stripped from the tape the tray is progressing into thebag thus loading the bag. The article being loaded into the bag isshoved simultaneously as the tray approachesis fully in position outthrough the spring arms 106 and 107 opening the arms apart and spreadingthe bag further thus pulling some at the outside edge of the bagscontact with the tape. The article is also simultaneously shoved fromthe tray and the bag is shoved from the loading position of the supporttable and, because of its relatively slick surface, it slides easilyacross the other bags and onto a second station (not shown) which may bea conveyor or a table for moving it to a separate position for furtherprocessing such as closing by a person standing just beyond the baggingposition. The rollers 72 and 73 aidin moving the bags out of the way tothe next station for further processing so that another bag may beloaded. Alternatively if the tray does not have the upper camming shapeto the arms 106 and 107, the operator may hold her arm tilted upwardlyand engage the forward edge of the bag stripping it from the tape. 7

As the bag is stripped from the tape the trigger 51 is released by thelower lip of the bag. The trigger 51 moves inwardly due to its springaction engaging the spring loaded slide actuator 50 which closes thepilot valve 47 cutting off the air to line 52 which allows the airthrough line 54 to movethe slide in the valve 46 to open line 44 andreverse the rotary actuator 43 driving gear 30 clockwise through thepower train. The tape is thus conveyed through the meshing gears 30 and56 a sufficient distance to pull the next bag 132 in the chain 130against the trigger 51 drawing the trigger forward away from the springloaded actuator 50 which opens the pilot valve 46 admitting airthrough'line 52 against the slide in the valve 47 which switches the airto line 45 reversing the reciprocating actuator to a counterclockwiserotation. This reverses the movement of the shaft 42 openingclutch 37and breaking the power train. Clutch 34 engages so that the drive wheel30 is locked and cannot reverse its motion. Thus the tapes 128 and 129are held crimped between gears 30 and 56 and the bag 131 thus is securedin loading position.

The leaf spring trigger 51 because of its extra bending displacementprovides some degree of override in response to the bags pressureagainst it insuring a complete disengagement of the trigger from theslide 50. The override is provided by the momentary delay in thereversal of the reciprocating rotary actuator. The override prevents theshattering type of switching of the power means that couldotherwiseoccur due to a usually inherent slight giving and stretching ofthe forward lip of the plastic bags that would usually be. used on theapparatus. The lip of the bag is engaged with and serves to actuate thetrigger 51.

When the tape is pulled by the gears 30 and 56 its non-tacky surfaceslides over the upper surface of the support table 21 and the curvededge 22. The tacky surfaces of the tape are engaged on the knurledsurfaces of the wheels 63 and 64 causing the wheels to rotate as thetape is pulled. Because the wheels 63 and 64 are knurled the tapeseparates from the wheels in response to only very slight separatingforces. This re- .duces the power requirements for machine operation.

As the tray is manually moved back to the loading position forreloading, lever 124 is released by the camming surface thereby openingvalve 123 releasing the air from the cylinder 120 allowing the spring inthe cylinder to draw the piston into the cylinder opening up the inlet111 to the fan 110. By the time the fan is open again, the loaded bag orpackage should have moved out of the way and the next bag is usuallyalready in the loading position.

The fan 110 propels air through outlet 112 and the chute 113 directs theair against the forward edge of the bag where it initially proceeds onacross the upper surface of the bag 131 until sufficient opening isattained in the bag for the air to fully enter the bag 131. Once the bagis fully inflated and opened by the air, the apparatus is ready for therepetition of the procedure just described which can be sequentiallycontinued indefinitely.

When the chain of bags in the package 143 is about to be exhausted a newpackage 146 containing a new chain of bags may be moved up adjacent tothe package 143 as shown in FIG. 3 and the end tapes 128 and 129 fromthe chain of imbricated bags in package 143 may be attached to the leadout ends of tapes 147 and 148, respectively, by adherring the tapestogether so that the new chain will be pulled onto the apparatus and fedthrough the apparatus in the same manner as the chain 130. The tapes 147and 148 must be attached so' that the tacky tape sides are oriented upin the same manner as the chain of bags 130. It is obvious that thissequence can also be continued indefinitely as the trailing ends oftapes 147 and 148 may be attached to another package of bags and so on.Of course, once the package 143 is exhausted the empty package containermay be removed and the package may be slipped into its position.

To shut down operation it is only necessary to cut off the fan motor andthe air'compressor (not shown) if this is the source of air. This may bedone at any time during the sequence of operation but probably it ismost conveniently done atthe time when tray 12 is in the outer positionshown in FIG. 1.

It has been found to be preferable to power the ma chine with air withthe exception of the fan because the air system does not normallypresent the other general electrical insulation, corrosion anddeterioration problems presented by electrical wiring and devices undersuch rigorous operating conditions as meat packing plants where theapparatus is constantly wet down, washed and buffeted with water, steamand other cleansing mediums. Electrical apparatuses also present asafety hazard because of the possibility that personnel operating themachines will be shocked due to insulation failure underfthe wetoperating conditions. The air powered machine usually provides for safeoperation,

17 lower maintenance costs and less expensive installation costs becausethere is a reduced need to protectelectrical parts. It has been foundthat it is usually best to operate the fan with electrical power becauseof the high power requirements which necessitate the use of much higherair pressure than the 30 pound pressure which has been found sufficientto operate the apparatus when the fan is directly powered electrically.This split power means reduces the overall power requirements.

A reciprocating rotary actuator has been found to be the preferabledriving means because it has low maintenance costs and low powerrequirements. In the embodiment shown a 150 inch pounds torque rotaryactuator was used. The use of the air cylinder 84 to raise and lower thesupport table and tape pulling unit 21 has been found to be particularlydesirable because the 30 pounds of pressure required to pivotally movethe support table and tape pulling unit which weighs about 30 pounds, inthe embodiment shown, is not a sufficiently large force to present asafety hazard should someone get a hand or another body part in the wayof the movement of the support table and tape pulling unit 15. The aircylinder which is a double acting type air cylinder when operated atabout 30 pounds of air pressure provides sufficientlyslow-mediurn motionin opening and closing the apparatus to not delay operation and yet togive the operator time to observe and correct any binding, such as thebags not moving upwardly over the roller as the tape moves forward whichcould cause a break in the tape due to overstretching should the bagsfor some reason be held by the package due to a package beingincompletely opened or some such. This speed of opening and closing,requiringv about 4 seconds, leaves the operators hands free to adjustthe tape after he positions the handle 86 to actuate the cylinder 84.

When it is desired to switch the size of the bags or to change the tapefor some other reason lever 86 is shifted to the position shown indotted lines in FIG. 3 closing the air inlet to line 88 into thecylinder 84 and opening the outlet for the air from the cylinder vialine 89 allowing the table to fall slowly backwards, the table beingpulled backwards by its off-center weight about the pivot 82 which isengaged in bracket 83 and their counterparts (not shown on the otherside of the unit 15. The toggle 57 is moved to move idler wheel 56 outof mesh with wheel 30 releasing the tape from engagement therebetween.The chain 130 of imbricated bags can then be lifted back and fed backbetween rollers 74 and 75 into the package 143. The apparatus is thenready for loading with a chain of imbricated bags in the mannerpreviously described. Of course, a chain of bags could be used up andthe ends of the tape would simply .run out between the meshing gears 30and 56. For reloading, the unit 15 would still be dropped back and thetoggle 57 opened.

To place an apparatus incorporating the embodiments of FIGS. 8, 9 and 10into operation and operate the apparatus in a preferred manner theoperation is somewhat similar to placing the apparatus 10 of thisinvention into operation and operating it as previously described withthe following differences. Initially the tray and blower assembly 315 isopened pivoting at hinges 382 and 383 to expose the front face of thesupport table and tap pulling unit 215. This is a manual is beingloadedin the apparatus. It will be noted that the support table and tapepulling unit215 of FIG. 8 has no means for laterally adjusting theknurled wheels 263 and 264. Even so the device may be used with tapespacings varying about 20 percent without undue difficulty. The chain ofimbricated bags is shown in FIG. 10 to be drawn up between rollers 276and 275 and then the chain of bags is drawn across rollers 275, 274 and273 and across. the support table 221 and over its forward edge 222around the knurled wheels 263 and 264 respectively with tape 329receiving a clockwise twist in being drawn over the knurled wheel 264and with tape 328 reciving a counter clockwise twist and engaged overknurled wheel 263. The directions of the twist being determined from aposition facing the front plate 224. The tapes are then stuck tackysurface to tacky surface and positioned between the gears 230 and 256and the toggle 257 is moved to its locked position to lock the wheelsinto meshing engagement with the tapes held therebetween. The hinged arm390 is then unlocked and the tray and blower assembly 315 is loweredinto engagement with two stops 385 and 386 on the frame 211. 1

It will be observed in FIGS. 9 and 10 that the tray 212 is secured inpermanent position in the assembly 315, it does not reciprocate duringthe operation of the apparatus. Once the assembly 315 has been loweredand the power is turned on by an electric switch (not shown) the bagswill be drawn forward across the support table 221 until the forwardmostbags lips engage against the trigger=means 251. This will open switch247 (FIG. 8) shutting off the motor 243. The fan 210 (FIG. 9) is thenactivated either by the same switch that cuts on the power to motor 243or by another switch. The fan will usually be operated continuouslyduring a loading operation using the apparatus of FIGS. 9 and 10. Thefan 210 supplies air through chute 213 across the front edge 222- of thesupport table and once the bag is partially open into the bag itself.

After the bag. has been opened by the air the article to be packaged isplaced by an operator in the tray 212 and pushed over bars 217 and 218across the chute 213, pushing the spring arms 306 and 307 outwardagainst the sides of the bag. The article passes through the spring armsand into the bag. The bag is peeled from the tape and pushed out of theway. In the embodiment shown the bag is peeled from the tape by theoperator. The operator holds her arm slanted upwardly and strikes theupper lip of the bag pushing the bag backwardsas she pushes the articlethrough the spring arms into the bag as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 9.As

in the previous embodiment the bag is slightly pulled downwardly overthe curved edge 222 which aids in peeling the bag from front to rear offof the tape. The bag could, of course, be stripped from the tape byconstructing the tray arms similar to the arm 107 of FIG. 3 so that asthe arms were pushed apart they would be sufficiently large to simplylift the bag from the tapes 328 and 329. The article slides over theguard 219 as it enters the bag thus preventing the article fromstrikoperation. The assembly is held in the raised position by supportarm 390 while the .chain of imbricated bags ing the trigger 251 whichwould cause the motor 243 to be energized.

It is usually not necessaryto provide means for shutting off the fanwhile the article is being inserted in the bag using the apparatus ofFIGS. 8, 9 and 10 because when the article passes across the chute 213it does not usually cause such a deflection of the air against the passacross the chute and the article passes over the chute and into the bagso quickly that a problem has not been found to exist.

Once the bag is stripped out of the way the next bag is pulled intoposition against trigger 251 and begins to inflate. Its upper side andlip rise upwardly under the curved forward edge 308 and 309 of the arms306 and 307. The arms 306 and 307-are shown in FIG. positioned insidethe mouth of the bag shown in solid lines and over the upper lip of thepartially inflated bag shown in dotted lines. The upper lip of thepartially inflated bag rises upwardly along the front edge of the armsuntil it passes above the arms at which time it flips open andstraightens out above the upper surface of the arms as shown in fulllines. A deflection and tray support plate 309a deflects the airdownwardly and also serves as a top to the chute 213. It is important todeliver the air into the bag at a fairly low angle in order to assurethat the air will flow under the upper lip of the bag when it is bentback under the arms 306 and 307. This assures that the air will passinto the bag rather than over the bag. Of course, it is also importantthat the air not be delivered at such a low angle as to cause the secondbag down in the chain to partially inflate. Once the bag is fully openedit is then ready to be loaded with an article and the sequence iscontinued in the same manner as desired.

To load a subsequent chain of bags onto the apparatus of FIGS. 8, 9 and10, an additional chain may be attached directly to the chain of bagsalready loaded into the machine as previously described to directly addanother package into the apparatus or the chain may be fully used up orthe machine may be stopped and the chain removed and a new chain of bagloaded into the machine as desired.

To place the apparatus of the embodiments shown in FIGS. l1, l2 and 13in operation and operate it in a preferred manner, the support table andtape pulling unit 415 is opened in the same manner described withrespect to the unit 15. The cartridge 400 is lifted from the packagecontaining the chain of imbricated bags 430 and fed between theappropriate rollers in the same manner as described with respect toloading imbricated bags 130 into apparatus 10. The cartridge is thenpulled across the support table and down across 20 the curved front edgeand connected to the shaft coupler 401 (FIG. 11). The pairs of bosses412a, 4121; and 412c on the cartridge are aligned with the bosses 4130,413b and 413C respectively which closely fit between the bosses on thecartridge and the cartridge is clipped into a tight frictionalengagement with plate 424 as it is connected to coupling 401 whichpasses into coupling 402. The support table and tape pulling unit 415 isthen raised into operating position in the same manvner described withrespect to apparatus 10 and sequential operation is carried out also aspreviously described. However, when the chain of imbricated bags hasbeen used up, it is necessary to substitute a new chain becausegenerally the cartridge only accomodates the tape from its own chain ofbags. Thus when the chain of bags is used up, it is necessary to reloadthe apparatus 410 in the same manner as previously described for loadingthe apparatus by lowering the support table and tape pulling unit 415and removing the full cartridge and substituting a new cartridge.

While in accordance with the patent statutes we have described what atpresent are considered to be the preferred embodiments of our invention,it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from our invention,and we, therefore, aim in the following claims to cover all suchequivalent variations as fall within the true spirit and scope of thisinvention.

What we claim is:

1. A method of sequentially loading a chain of imbricated bagscomprising sequentially moving a bag into a loading position, firmlysupporting the bottom of the bag in the loadingposition, reducing theair pressure above said bag and partially opening the bag, directing astream of fluid into the partially open bag and increasing the pressureinside the bag and fully opening the ag, positioning the front inwardportion of the bag under the bag, edge of the tray, and when the streamof fluid is directed into the partially open bag the bag is caused toride up under the forward portions of the tray and hump up so that itsupper lip is drawn up along the forward edge of the tray and caused toflip out above the forward edge of the tray, the article is loaded intothe tray and shoved from the tray into the bag without moving the trayfurther into the bag and the bag is then removed from the tray.

v UNITED STATES PATENT CERTIFICATE OF CGRECTION Patent No. 3,793,797Dated Februarv 26., 1974 I Inve'ntor(s) Roberts John T. and Wing, RalphL.

It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent andthat said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Claim 1, line 8 "ag'o' should read bag line 9 "bag" should read forwardline 9 first comma should be deleted.

Signed and sealed this llth day of June 19m (SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETGHER,JR. 6,, SHALL DANE Attesting Officer Gossioner ofPatents FORM P 04050 (10-69) I uscomm-oc sows-pe I u.s. covenmqnq MimeQffge: 190B wuss-s34

1. A method of sequentially loading a chain of imbricated bagscomprising sequentially moving a bag into a loading position, firmlysupporting the bottom of the bag in the loading position, reducing theair pressure above said bag and partially opening the bag, directing astream of fluid into the partially open bag and increasing the pressureinside the bag and fully opening the ag, positioning the front inwardportion of the bag under the bag, edge of the tray, and when the streamof fluid is directed into the partially open bag the bag is caused toride up under the forward portions of the tray and hump up so that itsupper lip is drawn up along the forward edge of the tray and caused toflip out above the forward edge of the tray, the article is loaded intothe tray and shoved from the tray into the bag without moving the trayfurther into the bag and the bag is then removed from the tray.